Culture

10 things you probably didn't know about 'Dirty Dancing'

'Dirty Dancing' wasn't expected to be a hit

Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey and directed by Emile Ardolino, the summer romance was not predicted to be a hit upon its release in 1987. Although teen films like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986) had been raking in revenues, and "Flashdance" had brought dance moves to the big screen in 1983, studio execs initially considered taking "Dirty Dancing" straight to video.

The actors really had to dance

Telling the story of a romance between a teenager in the summer before university and the hired help at a retreat, "Dirty Dancing" grabbed adult audiences for its soundtrack mixing authentic 1960s music and daring dances. Unlike in "Flashdance," the main actors here had to be dancers themselves. Swayze was cast after the director learned he'd previously worked with Chicago's Joffrey Ballet.

Abortion was an intentional sub-plot

Set in 1963, a decade before the US Supreme Court decision making abortion legal, "Dirty Dancing" was one of the first movies to address illegal abortion in making the pregnancy of dancer Penny (above left) a major plot point. Screenwriter and co-producer Eleanor Bergstein said she intentionally wrote the subject into the plot in an inextricable way - and lost marketers for not removing it.

Some viewers missed the abortion sub-plot

At an initial viewing, 39 percent of audience members did not recognize the abortion sub-plot, focusing instead on class differences represented by Baby and Johnny. The daughter of a doctor planning to leave for private university after the summer, Baby comes from a different world than working-class Johnny in what critic Roger Ebert called a "tired and relentlessly predictable story."

The stars didn't get along as well as it looks

Though the leads were supposed to be falling in love, rumor had it that Grey and Swayze did not get along. Swayze, who'd been cast to replace Billy Zane after Zane was unable to dance adequately, had been in "Red Dawn" with Grey just a few years earlier - a history that led to the on-set anoymosity. Yet producer Eleanor Bergstein insisted their initial screen tests showed "breathtaking" chemistry.

Jennifer Grey laughed at the wrong (right?) moment

A romantic moment between Grey and Swayze leads Grey to erupt in giggles in what choreographer Kenny Ortega called "one of the most delicate and honest moments in the film" in an interview for the Lionsgate DVD release. Written as a serious show of affection, Grey said her ticklish side got the best of her and the director chose to keep the laughter.

The cast had a sex ban while filming

Filming and rehearsals in rural parts of Virginia and North Carolina lasted nearly two months. With cast and crew far from home, evenings would often turn into disco parties that set the mood and atmosphere for the following day's filming. Producer Eleanor Bergstein, however, is said to have forbidden sexual contact among the cast - in order to heighten the on-screen sexual tension.

The lake was much colder than it looks

In one of the most memorable scenes, Patrick Swayze takes to the water to make performing the lift - a dance move in which he hoists Jennifer Grey over his head - a bit easier for both of them. In reality, the water temperatures in Mountain Lake, Virginia, were just above freezing, leading Grey to confess on a DVD release that she might not have otherwise done so except she was "young and hungry."

The theme song is often played at funerals

After a falling out with the resort owner, Johnny is told to leave the premises, but he returns for the season's closing night - and hoists Baby up for a final dance scene. The song "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" was originally written for the film and rose to number one on the Billboard charts after its release. It is also the third-most played song at funerals in the UK.

There a now 'Dirty Dancing' musicals

The popularity of the film, which grossed $64 million by 1997 and had sold over 10 million DVDs by 2007, has become something of a franchise. A sequel set in Havana was released in 2004, a made-for-TV remake came out in 2017, and musicals based on the original story abound, including the one promoted here in Hamburg in 2008.

Abortion, theft, class inequality: "Dirty Dancing" took on hard-hitting topics - and nearly didn't make it to theaters as a result. Take a closer look at the iconic coming-of-age story as it turns 30.